During 1887, Edison began
to think about the interior spaces his new laboratory. doodled pieces of
paper and pages laboratory notebooks. This was similar the kind commercial structure which Edison
had always worked, but had impressive two story arched windows one end
which gave the air public academic building. With more space play with, Edison began to
produce drawings which divided functions among the structures.6 one the main building contained machine shop,
engine and dynamo room, store and instrument room, and library. Another shows machine shop, instrument room and library the
main building, chemical room adjacent building, and experimental rooms in
a third building.
12
8 Document Files hereafter will cited DF.6
It must soon have been obvious that the 37,500 square feet floor space was not
enough for the kind laboratory had mind.
* Notebook N-85-10-01, pp.4 Here was building intended glorify the process invention
and give the laboratory the dignity public building.
.grand arched entrance led into the laboratory and monumental tower disguised
the smokestack.3. The laboratory that
Thomas Edison built West Orange was statement about the new found
prestige the inventor and the importance his work American life.
Holly produced plan for three-story rectangular building 250 feet long and 50
feet wide. Subsequently more laboratory
buildings were added the master plan, smaller than the main building and
positioned perpendicular it. One drawing represents his efforts to
crowd all his experimental rooms-chemical laboratory, drafting room, test room,
glass blower’s room, pump room, and jeweller’s room—into one long rectangular
building (see figure 3b). All these
drawings have been gathered together the 1887 West Orange laboratory folder
in the Document File. The
satellite buildings were designated chemical/experimental, private/experimental,
and furnace.
8 Notebook N-87-00-00. all these drawings estimates were made the amount of
space required each function. 62-68
